J.B. Spins

Jazz, film, and improvised culture.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Select 2014 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts

The
subjects of this year’s two best Oscar nominated documentary shorts have some
pretty unique talents, but Alice Herz-Sommer is in a class by herself. Still
playing with verve at the spry age of 109, Herz-Sommer performed over one
hundred piano recitals in the Theresienstadt (or Terezin) concentration camp.
Taking strength from her music, she lived to tell and continued to find the
beauty in life. Her story unfolds in Malcolm Clarke’s The Lady in Number 6 (trailer here), part of the
annual two part showcase of Academy Award nominated short docs, which opens
today at the IFCCenter.

As
a young girl, Herz-Sommer’s sophisticated Prague family often socialized with
the likes of Gustav Mahler and Franz Kafka. Something of a prodigy, she was
widely recognized as one of the world’s top concert pianists by the time she
was in her early thirties. Then the
Germans invaded.

Obviously,
Herz-Sommer survived, but she would be no stranger to tragedy. Yet, her
indomitable spirit is genuinely inspiring—not in a Hallmark card sort of way,
but reflecting hard won wisdom and a tenacious love of music. Still razor sharp
at 109, she is forceful screen presence, who never resorts to canned clichés.

No
stranger to the subject of Theresienstadt, Malcolm Clarke was previously Oscar
nominated for the documentary feature, Prisoner
of Paradise, chronicling the life of Herz-Sommer’s fellow prisoner, Kurt
Gerron. He includes enough historical context for those unfamiliar with the
realities of the Potemkin concentration camp, but keeps the focus squarely on
Herz-Sommer. He also has a great voice for narration and incorporates some
distinctive original music, performed by Julie Theriault. Altogether, it is a
sensitive and classy package, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the
field.

While
he life circumstances are radically different, Ra Paulette, the subject of
Jeffrey Karoff’s Cavedigger (trailer here)is another fascinating artist. Like the
title implies, Paulette digs caves. He is sort of a subterranean landscape
artist, whose work incorporates elements of architecture and sculpture.
Frankly, Paulette comes across as a bit of a flake, but his dedication is
impressive and his caves are truly a sight to behold. Some of his work is reminiscent
of Granada cave homes, but on a much grander scale. It is real feat of
filmmaking, spanning years and transporting viewers to the remote corners of northern
New Mexico.

Ordinarily,
Yemen would also be considered quite the exotic locale, but over the last two
years footage of the Arab Spring uprisings have become almost ubiquitous. Sara
Ishaq’s Karama has no Walls adds some
particularly graphic images to the public discourse. Drawing on video shot by
two remarkably young cameramen, Walls is
surprisingly effective breaking down step-by-step how the Change Square
massacre escalated. Yet, despite the anguished testimony of two grieving
fathers (say, why don’t we the mothers on camera, as well?), the film has the
look and trajectory of an extended BBC report. In contrast, Matthew VanDyke’s Not Anymorefeels more cinematic, yet
also more immediate.

Granted, Herz-Sommer’s story has been documented
in Caroline Stoessinger’s widely translated A
Century of Wisdom, but thank heavens Clarke got her oral history on film.
Frankly, Paulette is not getting any younger either, but he seems to keep
chugging along, just like Herz-Sommer. The best of the five, The Lady in Number 6 screens as part of
the annual nominated short documentary showcase’s program A, along with the
well intentioned Karama has no Walls.
The intriguing outdoorsman outsider art documentary Cavedigger screens as part of program B, both of which open today
(1/31) in New York at the IFC Center.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

2014 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

If
you are looking for a unifying theme among this year’s live action short film
Oscar nominees, several address the responsibilities of parents and the extent
to which the wider society can complement or replace the family unit. Of
course, there is also the ringer that cannot be shoehorned into a handy rubric.
All five nominees screen as part of the annual showcase of Academy Award
nominated shorts, which opens tomorrow at the IFC Center in New York.

Frankly,
Sini and Jokke are not bad parents. They are just kind of a mess in Selma
Vilhunen’s Do I Have to Take Care of
Everything? Nearly over sleeping an important wedding, they still manage to
schlep their two young daughters over to the chapel, despite a series of minor
disasters. Everything is pleasant and
amusing, but only an inch deep and seven minutes long.

In
contrast, Esteban Crespo’s That Wasn’t Me
seems to expect a round of applause just for dramatizing the child-soldier
issue. Married Spanish doctors have come to an African war zone as part of a
humanitarian mission, but their safe passage documents do not impress one
warlord. The horrific crimes that follow will be done at his behest by young
orphans pressed into his so-called army. Discussing his crimes after the fact,
one former child-soldier explains how the guerilla commander exploited their
need for a sense of family and belonging.

There
are scenes in TWM that are genuinely shocking.
While it serves as a timely reminder of the appalling lack of human rights
throughout the continent, the film feels rather programmatic, like a calculated
statement rather than a fully realized drama in its own right.

When
it comes to pulling on heartstrings, none of the shorts can compete with Anders
Walter’s Helium (trailer here), but it earns
its sentiment through honest hard work and artistry. Alfred’s parents are
caring and conscientious, but that cannot change the fact he is dying of a
terminal disease. His mother constantly tells him he is going to Heaven, but
the harps and white robes do not do much for him. Enzo, the clutzy new janitor,
has a better conception.

Reminded
of his late kid brother, who also shared a love for zeppelins and Jules Vernish
hot air balloons, Enzo starts telling Alfred about the world of Helium, a
steampunk-Boy’s Life alternative to
Heaven. For a while, Enzo’s vision of Helium lifts the boy’s spirits, but his
body soon takes a turn for the worse. Helium’s animated fantasyscapes are quite
richly rendered, bringing to mind about the only part of the What Dreams May Come movie that actually
worked. However, it is the chemistry between Casper Crump, Pelle Falk Krusbæk,
and Marijana Jankovic as Enzo, Alfred, and his understanding nurse that really
lowers the boom in Helium. Despite
the melodramatic aspects, viewers will feel moved rather than manipulated.

There
is also some pretty raw emotion in Xavier Legrand’s Just Before Losing Everything (trailer here), which is
arguably the best of this year’s live action nominees. Miriam is a battered
wife, who has finally decided to leave her husband. However, it will not be a
simple matter of walking out the door.
She must bundle up her kids and collect what money she can from the job
she must leave behind. Everyone at her Tesco-like superstore is sympathetic,
but uncomfortable and unsure how far they can go to help. Then her husband
shows up looking for the checkbook.

If
Helium boasts the strongest ensemble
of this year’s nominations, Losing features
the single strongest performance from Léa Drucker as Miriam. We so get all her
fear, vulnerability, and misplaced shame. Instead of yelling “look at me,” it
is work that hits you in the gut.

As
the odd man out, Mark Gill’s BAFTA nominated The Voorman Problem (trailer here)tells a self-consciously clever tale of
an emotionally disturbed prison inmate who thinks he is the almighty and the
nebbish shrink sent to evaluate him. There is witty bit of business involving
Belgium, but the ironic payoff is forced and perfunctory. Nonetheless, co-star Martin Freeman has
helped generate scads of revenue for the industry as Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit trilogy and Watson in BBC/PBS’s Sherlock, so Voorman might have the inside track with the Academy.

In terms of tone and overall quality, this year’s
live action field is less consistent than their animated counterparts. Still,
it is well worth seeing for Helium and
Just Before Losing Everything, which
account for over half the program’s running time. They introduce some
international talent worth keeping an eye on. Recommended accordingly, the
nominated live action showcase opens tomorrow (1/31) at the IFC Center.

2014 Oscar Nominated Animation Shorts

Was
man free in his original state of nature? Are we enslaved by our stuff? Several
of this year’s Oscar nominated animation shorts lend themselves to such Rousseauean
questions. There is also a Disney Film (not included in the media screenings) to
contend with. Regardless, all five
nominees and a few additional short films of note will screen as part of the
annual showcase of Academy Award nominated shorts, which opens tomorrow at the
IFC Center in New York.

Amid
the international field, the clear standout is Shuhei Morita’s Possessions, a lush supernatural fable
in the tradition of Kwaidan. It is a
dark and stormy night in Eighteenth Century Japan. A weary traveler seeks
shelter in shrine, only to find himself in a supernatural repository for broken
objects that hold a “grudge.” Fortunately, the man is both handy and
spiritually sensitive.

Morita’s
richly detailed animation is strikingly elegant, yet it has an appropriate
macabre undertone. Possessions evokes
scores of classic Japanese movies, but there is also something strangely moving
about it. Completely satisfying, it deserves the little gold statuette, but
other nominees might be more to the Academy’s tastes.

Clearly,
the BBC produced adaptations of Julia Donaldson’s children’s books appeal to
many Oscar voters’ sensibilities, since The
Gruffalo was nominated in 2011. In the case of Max Lang & Jan Lachauer’s
Room on the Broom (trailer here), a witch’s
broomstick and the freedom of movement it represents to a swelling menagerie of
forest creatures is the object driving the action. Given its wholesome quality
animation and brains-over-brawn themes, Broom
is likely to be most parents’ favorite of the showcase. It also boasts the
strongest celebrity interest, featuring the voice talent of Gillian Anderson,
Rob Brydon, and best supporting actress nominee, Sally Hawkins (festival review
here).

Parenting
is a more problematic proposition in Daniel Sousa’s Feral (trailer
here),
a dark Kaspar Hauser fable about a boy reintroduced into human society after
spending his formative years living with the wolves. Visually, Sousa’s
black-and-white animation is starkly powerful, but its extreme stylization
keeps viewers at arm’s length emotionally. Nevertheless, it is an accomplished
work that should make an impression on animation connoisseurs.

The
agoraphobic titular protagonist of Laurent Witz’s Mr. Hublot (co-directed by Alexandre Espigares,trailer
here)
might also learn something about nurture. Inspired by Belgian sculptor Stephane
Halleux’s figures, Hublot lives in a fantastical industrial world, where the
living and the mechanical are partially integrated. One fateful day, he takes
in an abandoned robotic puppy, but he never expects it to be such a handful.
While Witz’s narrative is pretty straight forward and conventional, he (and
Espigares) create a wonderfully distinctive environment, with a real lived-in
feel.

Frankly, there are no clunkers among the media-friendly
nominees. All four are well crafted films, but Room on the Broom is probably the sweetest and most
family-appropriate, whereas Possessions is
the most rewarding overall. Recommended for Oscar watchers and animation fans,
the nominated short film showcase opens tomorrow (1/31) at the IFC Center.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

The Breath Courses Through Us: A Curtain Call for the New York Art Quartet

They
were arguably the original super group of free jazz. They formed in 1964 and
disbanded in 1965, yet they still had turnover on the bass. Eventually, Reggie Workman settled into the
role and would return for their special anniversary tour. Despite the brevity
of their tenure together, the New York Art Quartet remains enormously
influential. Alan Roth documents their history and triumphant reunion in The Breath Courses Through Us(trailer here), which has its
American premiere this Friday at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

It
all started when Congolese-Danish alto-saxophonist John Tchicai met trombonist
Roswell Rudd. Both musicians were exploring the creatively disruptive
innovations of Cecil Taylor, recognizing each other as kindred spirits. The
next piece of the puzzle was Milford Graves, a former Latin percussion
specialist, who had reoriented his perspective on the drums after hearing Elvin
Jones. As the New York Art Quartet, they recorded their instantly recognizable
eponymous ESP release with Bernie Worrell on bass, bringing Workman on board
for Mohawk the following year.

As
is usually the case in jazz, the Quartet was short lived, precisely because it was
just five minutes ahead of its time. At the time, they were consciously challenging
traditional notions of melody, harmony, and rhythm, yet to contemporary ears
they do not sound nearly as radical as much of the subsequent free music they
blazed a trail for.

Sparingly
using WKCR’s Ben Young as the expert commentator, Roth lucidly establishes the
Quartet’s musical significance, placing them in the context of their era. We
hear from all four musicians at length, all of whom are earnest and reflective
about the music they made. However, there is no question Graves is a uniquely
spirited and charismatic interview subject. His reminiscences are the sort of
gift documentarians only dream of.

Of
course, there is also plenty of straight-up music. Indeed, Roth has a nice
editorial ear, selecting performances that illustrate the Quartet’s
considerable technique. Watching Breath should
dispel any uncharitable notions that they embraced freer forms because they
could not adequately swing. After all, Rudd started off playing Dixieland and
Workman recorded with just about everybody, including Art Blakey, Grant Green,
and John Coltrane. At one point, Tchicai even played with a band inspired by
Miles Davis’ electric period. The late controversial poet Amiri Baraka also
joins the Quartet for some spoken word contributions. Roth wisely opts for his
more benign pronouncements, but his interludes are still the only part of their
reunion concert that sound dated.

To borrow terminology from Downbeat magazine, it is always great musicians get their overdue
ovation. Breath should lead to
greater appreciation of the New York Art Quartet, even among viewers not deeply
steeped in the free jazz aesthetic. Recommended for open ears, The Breath Courses Through Us screens
this Friday (1/31) at the Library of Congress, with a New York premiere in the
works.

Sundance ’14: Cooties

Those
who can’t do, teach. And those who can’t teach, teach at public schools. So
then, what are the chances of a misfit Ft. Chicken Elementary summer school
faculty surviving a juvenile mutant attack? Not great, but at least there will
be plenty of gory humor in Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion’s Cooties, which screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Failed
novelist Clint Hadson has moved back to his mother’s house in Fort Chicken and
accepted a position teaching English at his old elementary school. To make
matters more depressing, his old high school crush and her jealous gym teacher
boy friend are also on the Ft. Chicken faculty. Hadson wants to be the cool
teacher, who lets his students call him by his first name, but these kids are
real hellions—and that is before contaminated chicken nuggets turn them into rampaging
zombie death machines.

These
little monsters like to bite and they are definitely contagious, but their
viral brain rot only affects those who have not yet gone through puberty. In no
time at all, the rabid kids have overrun the school. Hadson, his maladjusted
colleagues, and a handful uninfected students hole-up, hoping help will come at
3:00, when parents start arriving to pick up their brood.

If
you enjoy humor derived from splattered brains and guts then Cooties is in your power zone. Co-writers
Ian Brennan and Leigh Whannel keep the shameless gags coming at a regular pace.
However, the conspicuous narrative similarities between Cooties and Return to Nuke ‘Em Highare distractingly awkward.
Cribbing Troma—get your head around that one.

Elijah
Wood’s nebbish everyman shtick works well enough for Hadson and he delivers
some amusing lines here and there (partly redeeming his role in the dour
travesty of Maniac). Whannel probably
gets the biggest laughs as the socially inept sex ed. teacher, but nobody tries
harder than Rainn Wilson, unleashing his inner Will Farrell as the
past-his-prime P.E. teacher.

Horror movie fans will chuckle at Cooties, but there is nothing here they
have not seen before, even if they have not yet revisited Nuke ‘Em High. For epic gross-out humor, it cannot compete with its
fellow midnight selection, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, but both were picked up for distribution, so they were both
winners at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Wait: the Psychic Said What?

At
least the psychic never asks for money.
Maybe that is why Emma believes her. It must be admitted her timing is
also spot-on, given she calls unsolicited immediately after the death of Emma’s
mother. Much to her sister’s frustration, Emma insists it will only be a matter
of time before their mother returns to the land of the living, because a
stranger told her so in M. Blash’s supernatural-ish drama The Wait (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.

Presumably,
Angela is the more responsible sister since she does all the things you are
supposed to do when a family member dies.
Her older sister is clearly a flake, yet everyone seems to defer to
her. Instead of grieving, the family
just ambles about in a daze, with the air conditioning cranked up to arctic
levels. Angela recognizes cracked behavior when she sees it, but her flirtation
with a scruffy hipster neighbor distracts her from pushing the issue.

Blash
plays up the verdant eeriness of the Pacific Northwest woods for all its worth,
simulating the vibe of Twin Peaks,
but lacking the distinctive characters and stuff happening with
regularity. Kasper Tuxen’s lush cinematography
evokes a sense something uncanny must be going on somewhere, but there are
simply too many shots of characters staring off into the distance for Wait to sustain any appreciable
momentum.

After
Tuxen, Jena Malone is probably the film’s MVP. As Angela, she actually supplies
a real performance, marked by vulnerability and sensuality. In contrast, Chloë Sevigny’s Emma largely
fades into the background, which is surprisingly given the lively impression
she made in Jonathan Caouette’s even more surreal short, All Flowers in Time.

With respects to the natural versus the
supernatural question, Wait seems to
want to have its cake and eat it too. Blash offers up sequences to support
either alternative down the stretch, but they are all so frustratingly
underwhelming. There are interesting bits here and there, like the forest fire
raging on the horizon, which everyone assiduously ignores, like revelers in Pompeii.
Yes, it is a carefully crafted film, but there will be times viewers will want
to hook it up to a car battery and give it a jump. For dedicated Malone fans
only, The Wait opens this Friday
(1/31) in New York at the Cinema Village.

Sundance Shorts: Rat Pack Rat & Pleasure

They
are extreme professions, but you will not see reality shows about them on the
History Channel. The E! Channel, maybe. Neither protagonist of will have a
typical day at the office. One celebrity impersonator will also get stuck with
his worst request ever in Todd Rohal’s Rat
Pack Rat (the more highly recommended of the two), which screened at the
2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Dennis
looks worn down and frail, but the Sammy Davis, Jr. impersonator can still turn
on the Candyman for his Craigslist clients. This will be a tough one though. His
command performance will be the birthday present for an adolescent Rat Pack
fanatic wasting away from a terminal condition.

Helmed
by The Catechism Cataclysm’s Rohal, Rat probably generated a lot of nervous
laughter during its screenings from those expecting similar lunacy, but it is a
distinctly sad and sober film. Eddie Rouse is fantastic as “Sammy,” conveying
all his weariness and regret, while also evoking some of the pathos of the
original Davis. It would be a fascinating film to see in dialogue with Armando
Bo’s The Last Elvis, a previous
Sundance selection that also explores how impersonators relate to their famous
inspirations.

The
protagonist of Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure also
works in show business, in a far more professional capacity. Right, she does blue
movies (always a mainstay of festival programming). Initially, it is a typical
workday for Marie, but there is buzz one of her colleague will shoot a maneuver
that sounds like it would defy the laws of physics, but evidently happens from
time to time.

Pleasure is sexually
charged, but not sensual. It analyzes
the day-to-day details of her business with clinical detachment. Probably the
most intriguing element of the film is her relationship with Samson, a co-worker
who clearly has eyes for her, notwithstanding what they do all day, often
together. Yet, for Marie, he represents
more of a Survivor style alliance. It
is probably the only subtle aspect of the film, nicely turned by Jenny Hutton
and Christian Brandin.

While neither film is what you might call fun, both
create a distinctive vibe and Rat Pack
Rat is strangely affecting. Both
should expect considerable play on the festival circuit, given Pleasure’s subject matter and Rohal’s
cult reputation, following their screenings (as part of separate shorts
programs) at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Love is in the Air: Ludivine Sagnier’s First Rom-Com

It
is a pretty good rom-com premise, but you wouldn’t want to be seated near a
couple like this in real life. When two former lovers fitting themselves
sitting next to each other on a trans-Atlantic flight, they revisit the end of
their affair in Alexandre Castagnetti’s Love
is in the Air (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.

Julie
is a sculptor with major jealousy and self-esteem issues. It is not clear what
Antoine does, besides womanizing. Obviously, they are polar opposites, so they
must be meant for each other. For a while, they really gave it a go, but now
Julie is winging her way back to France to marry her predictably buttoned down fiancé.

They
seem to have chemistry, so how did it all go wrong? Of course, there were
complicating factors, like her career frustrations and judgmental mother. Antoine similarly had to juggle counseling sessions
with his nebbish best friend Franck and the unwelcome attentions of an
ex-girlfriend’s nymphish little sister. Mix together and let the farce
commence.

Right,
so there are no real surprises in store for viewers here—no surreal mindtrips
from left field or third act revelations. Air
follows the tried and true formula, but its execution is silky smooth. Right
from the start, the soundtrack wins us over with Nancy Wilson’s lightly
swinging rendition of “I Wish You Love” (which is so much more effective than
more maudlin versions). Frankly, Castagnetti is rather shameless milking Paris
for all its romantic worth. Even Julie finds it clichéd when they have their
first date at the Eiffel Tower, but it works nonetheless.

Ludivine
Sagnier has probably never looked lovelier on-screen, but Julie’s assorted
anxieties wear a little thin over time. In contrast, Nicolas Bedos looks like a
gigolo from central casting, but he actually has his redemptive moments digging
out from under all Antoine’s jerkweed behavior down the stretch. Of course they look good together, but they
do develop a considerable amount of romantic X-factor during their courtship
scenes.

Air is not exactly
a towering accomplishment in cinema, but it is a can’t-miss date movie. If
things are working, its romantic trappings will keep the good vibe going. If not, folks can ogle the attractive cast. Recommended
as the sugary confection it is intended to be, Love is in the Air opens this Friday (1/31) in New York at the Quad
Cinema.

Sundance ’14: Blue Ruin

It
only takes one family to launch a feud. By the same token, an emotionally
damaged drifter hopes it will only take one family member to end it. Revenge is
indeed the gift that keeps on giving but never fully satisfies in Jeremy
Saulnier’s Blue Ruin (trailer here), which screened
at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

After
the murder of his parents, Dwight Evans’ psyche just disintegrated. In recent
years, he has survived hand-to-mouth, often living uninvited in the homes of
vacationing families, until they return. Then he resumes crashing in his beat
up blue four door sedan. His anaesthetized existence is interrupted by a
sympathetic police officer, who informs Evans the man who killed his parents is
about to be released from parole.

Will
Cleland is a member of the thuggish Cleland clan. Even though they own a successful
limousine rental company, they are more comfortable with back hills living. Vengeance is definitely the sort of thing they
are better at, but Evans shadows Cleland from prison to his roadhouse celebration
nonetheless. He is clearly an inexperienced killer, as we see firsthand when he
confronts Cleland alone in the men’s room.
From there, one darned thing leads inexorably to another, generating a
whole lot of angst and bodies, but also threatening to engulf Evans’ estranged sister
and her family.

At
its essence, Ruin is equally akin to
classical tragedy and hillbilly exploitation films. Saulnier’s execution is wickedly effective,
showing all the awkwardness of killing and the messiness of the resulting aftermath.
Frankly, some of the most inspired scenes in Ruin are the bits most films gloss over. Yet, the tension never
flags, notwithstanding the occasional punctuations of gruesome humor.

As
Evans, co-executive producer Macon Blair is one of the most intense sad sacks
you will ever see on screen. He is a palpably haunted presence, but shows
flashes of inspiration, making it impossible not to root for him, despite his
alarming tendency to make mistakes. He commands the film, but Devin Ratray adds
some welcome attitude and general humanity as Evans’ well armed high school
friend, Ben Gaffney. Eve Plumb (a.k.a. Jan Brady) is also all kinds of fierce
as the ruthless Kris Cleland, thereby guaranteeing Ruin a sizable cult following.

They won’t be disappointed either. Blue Ruin is a taut and evocative thriller
that utilizes its southern gothic violence for comedic and elegiac purposes. It
is a cooker, recommended for anyone who enjoys payback cinema. With a
theatrical and VOD release coming from Radius-TWC, Blue Ruin will also screen at the SF Indie Fest on February 16th
& 20th, following its Spotlight selection at this year’s
Sundance Film Festival.

Slamdance ’14: Wizard’s Way

Some
legends might stand eternal, but no server last forever. When the one hosting
one of the earliest surviving fantasy MMO’s is finally decommissioned, it
causes great angst for two of the most dedicated players. A pair of snarky
documentary filmmakers intend to capture the resulting drama, but the story
evolves beyond their control in Metal Man’s Wizard’s
Way (trailer
here), which
screened at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.

Although
nothing could upstage Christopher Nolan receiving the inaugural Founder’s Award
at this year’s Slamdance, news that Jack Black plans to develop and executive
produce the American remake of Way was
still pretty big stuff. He could probably star as well, in nearly any of the
scruffy roles. Joe Stretch and Chris Killen (played by their namesakes) are
recent film school grads, who somehow received early notice of the impending
demise of Wizard’s Way. Recognizing a
good opportunity for cinematic exploitation, they seek out Julian “Windows”
Andrews, a stockroom prole by day, who is the undisputed top gun amongst Wizard’s
Way’s dwindling ranks.

As
his schlubby roommate Barry Tubbulb explains, Windows is the only player to get
married “in-game” to Elin, whom he has never met outside of Wizard’s Way. When
the plug gets pulled, Windows is understandably distraught, because he has lost
his “wife” along with his life’s passion. Somehow Stretch convinces the gamers
to stick with their film, but he has some rather cruel manipulations scripted
out for the lads. However, Andrews and Tubbulb might not be as dumb and
pathetic as the would-be-documentarians think.

Frankly,
Wizard is exactly what Zero Charismashould have been, but wasn’t. There is no question in the culture war
between geeks and hipsters, Metal Man, a.k.a. co-writers Socrates Adams-Florou,
Chris Killen & Joe Stretch, line up solidly behind the geeks. Their
sympathy for Tubbulb and Andrews is genuine and the eventual comeuppance is
satisfying.

As
Tubbulb, Adams-Florou lets loose with a fair amount of shtick, but Kristian
Scott is surprisingly grounded (and rather reserved) as Windows. While Killen largely avoids the spotlight
(which is definitely an issue for his character), Stretch’s slow, creepy
evolution into outright villain is frankly quite impressive. This is obviously
a zero budget affair, but everyone in front of the camera gamely holds up their
end.

You do not often see movies at festivals that
tell documentary filmmakers to sod off, which is why Wizard is so refreshing.
Similar in tone to Electric Man,
David Barras’s affectionate ode to comic readers, Wizard defends geek culture in general, while gently encouraging the
addition of an offline component. It all
works quite well. Highly recommended for gamers and fans of eccentric British
comedies, the news-making Wizard’s Way should
have plenty of festival screenings in its future.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sundance ’14: The Notorious Mr. Bout

He
was the world’s best known arms dealer, who shot more selfie footage of himself
in the wrong places at the wrong times than a punky skateboarding graffiti
vandal. That was not the best strategy for minimizing circumstantial evidence,
but it left a wealth of primary source material for Tony Gerber & Maxim
Pozdorovkin’s documentary, The Notorious
Mr. Bout,
which
screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Viktor
Bout could be the model of the self-made oligarch in the age of Putin. It has
been established that Bout served in the Soviet military in some capacity, but
the exact details remain murky. Thought to have been active in Angolan
operations, Bout set up shop after his early 1990’s discharge, focusing his “shipping”
business in failed African states like the Central African Republic and ambiguously
regulated fiefdoms throughout the Middle East.
Eventually dubbed “The Merchant of Death” by the media, Bout inspired
the Nic Cage film Lord of War,
guaranteeing him bad karma for his next life.

When
Notorious follows Bout’s trail from
one global hotspot to another, it is absolutely fascinating stuff. However, the film sort of suffers from an odd
split personality disorder. The first half meticulously pieces together the
shady elements of his business, including his attempts to cultivate Congolese
warlord turned politician Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is now facing war crime
charges in The Hague. Yet, the third act largely paints him as a victim of a DEA
entrapment. Frankly, that is a much more compelling argument in sex or drug
cases that target human frailty than conspiring to sell arms to the Colombian
FARC terrorists.

It is rather odd to see Notorious openly appeal the Russian persecution complex so
assiduously stoked by Putin, considering Pozdorovkin also co-directed the
uncompromising human rights expose, Pussy Riot: a Punk Prayer (which played at last year's Sundance). Most viewers will probably leave baffled by the film’s
contradictory pieces. At the very least, the inconsistent tone reflects dubious
editing choices. The story is compelling, but the conclusions drawn are hard to
reconcile with the material that came before it. Interesting but ultimately frustrating, The Notorious Mr. Bout is sure to draw
further attention on the festival circuit, but it might want to go back to the
editing bay for a few tweaks after screening at this year’s Sundance Film
Festival.

Slamdance ’14: Rezeta

Rezeta
still calls herself Albanian, but technically that is no longer true. Regardless of her Balkan nationality issues,
the fashion model is not fluent in Spanish.
Nonetheless, she will have no trouble meeting men in Fernando Frías’s Rezeta (trailer here), which won the narrative
feature Jury Award at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.

Things
always seem to work out relatively okay for Rezeta, if not spectacularly so. The
modeling agency that brought her to Mexico is decidedly on the dodgy side, yet
she starts scoring high profile work almost immediately. She gets along reasonably well with most of her
roommates in the company’s model crash pad, but frankly she will not be around
very much. She is not Blanche DuBois, but Rezeta will knowingly slip into some
bad relationships with underwhelming men of means, for obvious reasons. However,
things with Alex, the working class punk rock hipster, might be different. He
definitely catches her eye when they bond over their tattoos, but he plays bafflingly
hard to get.

Highly
improvisational, Rezeta the film
chronicles the rise and potential fall of a romantic relationship, with some
culture clash garnish on the side. Even at its best, Rezeta is never particularly deep and there are long stretches of
narrative slack. Still, the Balkan connection lends the Lost in Translation story a fresh angle.

Without
question, lead actress Rezeta Veliu is the film’s winning ace-in-the-hole. Not
just a pretty face, she is also quite a fine screen performer, blessed with a
natural sense of when to dial it up or down. As Alex, Roger Mendoza does not
have a fraction of her screen presence, but at least they develop some credible
chemistry together during their ambiguous courtship scenes.

The occasional glimpses Rezeta offers of the vagabond lives led by not-quite-supermodels
suggests there is more to be mined from this strange world of pseudo-glamour
and exploitation. Clearly, Frías is much more interested in the characters
transparently based on his co-leads, but their interpersonal dramas are rather
hit-or-miss stuff. Regardless, Rezeta obviously made quite an
impression on the jury when it screened at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival.
The combination of its award attention and Veliu’s striking look (she is not a
plastic cookie-cutter type, by any stretch) should secure it plenty of festival
play, including the 2014 Indie Fest in San Francisco, where it screens February
11th, 16th, and 20th.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Sundance ’14: Calvary

Whenever
we see a picturesque Irish village with a curmudgeonly priest we are
conditioned to automatically think quaint little comedy—the kind in which old people
might get naked. This will be a much darker affair. Reuniting with Brendan Gleeson, The Guardhelmer John Michael McDonagh
offers a sober meditation on faith, sacrifice, and forgiveness in Calvary, which screens today as part of
this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Father
James was called to the priesthood late in life, after his divorce. Considered
a good man by those who know him, he is completely innocent of the church’s
abuse scandals. Yet, that is precisely
why a grown victim announces in confessional his intention to kill the
upstanding father. Murdering a compromised
priest simply would not have the same jarring effect as killing Lavelle. With
the one week deadline looming, Lavelle sets out to find the disturbed parishioner
amongst his shockingly jaded flock.

Perhaps
fortuitously, Father James will also have to deal with his twentysomething
daughter, who has come to recuperate from another suicide attempt. They will
have some unusually serious and heartfelt discussions throughout the course of
the film, even though Father James never reveals the death threat hanging over
his head. However, McDonagh does not use the confessional seal as a thriller
device. Since the mystery man never asks for absolution, Father James is free
to seek the counsel of his bishop and the local dodgy police inspector. Yet, for various reasons, Father James is determined
to handle the matter personally.

Given
the title and the clock ticking down to Sunday, the symbolism of Calvary is almost crushing at
times. Nonetheless, its exploration of
religious conviction is exceptionally mature and thoughtful. Father James is a good man, but hardly a
saint. In contrast, the village is
almost shockingly contemptuous of his relative virtue. If the Church’s
problematic response to the notorious rash of abuse scandals is the lighter
fluid that ignites Calvary, the moral
bankruptcy of the increasingly agnostic village is the kindling that keeps it
ablaze.

Throughout
the film, Brendan Gleeson is pretty much perfect as Father James, delivering gruff
one-liners, while facing a series almost Biblical trials with palpable dignity
and resolution. It is a salty yet mostly
understated turn that might represent a career pinnacle. Likewise, Kelly Reilly
is absolutely devastating in her big scenes as his daughter. They are backed up by a diverse supporting cast,
including the likes of M. Emmet Walsh and Orla O’Rourke, who always convincingly
look and act like members of the dysfunctional provincial community.

At the halfway point, Calvary seems rather overstuffed with subplots and side characters,
yet nearly each and every one pays off for McDonagh. It might sound like an
opportunist broadside launched at the church, but its depiction of the good
priest is remarkable sympathetic and nuanced. In fact, McDonagh maintains a
tone much more in keeping with Bresson’s Diary
of a Country Priest or Jean-Pierre Melville’s Léon Morin, Priestthan the churlish score-settling of Philomena. Highly recommended
(especially to those most inclined to be suspicious of it), Calvary screens tonight (1/25) in Ogden
as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance ’14: Life Itself

In
1994, Siskel & Ebert helped launch Hoop
Dreams towards its Sundance success with an unprecedented early review that
aired during the first weekend of the festival.
Twenty years later, Sundance regular Steve James returns again with a
documentary tribute to his frequent champion, Roger Ebert. An affectionate
profile produced with the cooperation of the Chicago Sun-Times critic during his final days, James’ Life Itself,which screens
today as part of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Taking
its oddly uncinematic title from Ebert’s memoir, Life focuses on Ebert, but his longtime co-host Gene Siskel
naturally figures significantly throughout the film. Frankly, many viewers may
well feel like the two critics should have had equal billing, but perhaps Ebert
finally got one over on Siskel in that respect.

As
the editor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student newspaper,
Ebert was not shy about expressing his left-of-center opinions. It would also
help him fit in at the Sun-Times upon
graduation. Like many entry level
journalists, Ebert started out doing utility infield work at the paper, such as
death notices and crime reports. When
the movie critic resigned, he was assigned the beat rather off-handedly,
because it was not considered a high profile gig. Pre-Kael newspaper film criticism often used
generic bylines to accommodate multiple anonymous contributors. Of course, Ebert and his Pulitzer Prize for
criticism would help change matters.

James
devotes a fair amount of time to Ebert’s cub journalist years (which are
reasonably interesting) and resolutely faces up to his naughty collaborations
with sexploitation pioneer Russ Meyer (that are downright fascinating). He also
intersperses the biographic business with footage of Ebert’s slow decline
during the early months of 2013.

However,
most viewers will be interested first and foremost in his years co-hosting
movie review programs with Siskel. While James does not skimp on clips from the
various incarnations of their show and prominently features the reminiscences
of Siskel’s widow, their contentious partnership arguably could have been even
higher in the mix. After all, it is through their television appearances that
most viewers would have come to know Ebert.

In
fact, it is a wistfully nostalgic experience watching them argue and dispense
thumbs. Life indeed reminds us what a
comfortable presence S&E were on our idiot boxes. The influence they
exercised over movie-going tastes and preferences will probably never be
replicated.

Granted,
James handles the scenes of the failing Ebert with tremendous sympathy, but
they threaten to overwhelm the celebration of his life with uncomfortable hospital
scenes. We come to understand why Ebert wanted to be so forthcoming about his
health, but all the details do not have to be on-screen.

If you are wondering, Ebert’s in/famous North review did not make the cut. Maybe it will be on the DVD. Regardless, it is rather nice to see a movie
that considers film criticism a worthy endeavor. Recommended for those who can
never get enough movie nostalgia, Life Itself
screens again tonight (1/25) in Salt Lake, as this year’s Sundance Film
Festival comes to a close.

Sundance ’14: Kumiko the Treasure Hunter

Something
about the Minnesota accent must get lost when translated into Japanese, at
least judging from one unhappy office worker’s strange obsession. She is convinced the briefcase full of cash
buried in final scenes of the Coen Brothers’ Fargo is really out there, waiting to be discovered. Her strange
delusion will eventually take her to the fateful North Dakota border in the
Zellner Brothers’ Kumiko the Treasure
Hunter,
which
screens today at the Sundance Film Festival.

It
is not clear whether Kumiko’s obsession has crowded out other aspects of her
life or whether it has grown to fill the pre-existing void in her gloomy existence. Regardless, her work as an “Office Lady” (fetching
coffee and dry cleaning for her boss) remains profoundly unfulfilling. That she
is conspicuously older than her bimbo colleagues is a fact not lost on her,
either. Her only solace comes from her pet rabbit Bunzo and watching a well
worn VHS copy of Fargo, constantly
scribbling notes that only make sense to her

When
Kumiko finally reaches her breaking point at work, she absconds with the
corporate card and books a flight to Minneapolis. This is not a well planned trip. Kumiko
carefully collects all her Fargo material,
but neglects to consider adequate winter gear. Yet, as she makes her way north,
several locals will try to look out for her, as best they can. The wider world
is not really such a cold place in Treasure.
Kumiko just has trouble fitting into it. That forgiving spirit is one reason
why it is such an oddly moving film.

With
the right distributor behind her, Rinko Kikuchi might stand a chance of landing
her second Oscar nomination for Kumiko. It is a quiet performance, but
absolutely devastating in its power. She vividly projects the acute sensitivity
and compulsive focus that make Kumiko more closely akin to outsider artists
than routine nutters. David Zellner (the director and co-writer half of the
Zellner filmmaking tandem) is also quite funny yet also rather touching, in an
admirably understated way, as the sheriff’s deputy who tries to help
Kumiko. Bunzo is cute too.

It
is too bad nobody from Fargo signed
on for a cameo, because there is an obvious place where the Fellners could have
put them. Evidently, when you land a hit HBO series, you quit caring about
independent film. Still, fans of the Coen
Brothers’ film will appreciate all the references. Ironically, Alexander Payne
recently signed on as an executive producer, just before he was nominated for Nebraska and the Coens were snubbed for Llewyn Davis (none of which he could
control).

Whether or not it qualifies as a “co-production,”
Treasure certainly represent
extensive American and Japanese collaboration, shot entirely on location in
either Tokyo or Fargo country. Surprisingly accomplished work from the
Zellners, it has sweetly sad vibe that really distinguishes from the rest of the
field. Recommended with considerable affection, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter screens again this morning (1/25) in
Park City, as the 2014 Sundance Film Festival comes to a close.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Sundance ’14: Life After Beth

Teenagers
and zombies both have bad skin and smell like feet. However, the similarities end with the risen
dead’s affinity for smooth jazz. At
least, that is how the zombie apocalypse rolls in Jeff Baena’s Life After Beth, which screens today
during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Zach
Orfman was always inclined to be mopey, but the death of his out-of-his-league
girlfriend Beth Slocum really has him down. He is especially anguished because
their final awkward days of couplehood teetered on the brink of
splitsville. Seeking comfort in
proximity, Orfman starts spending time with Slocum’s parents, Maury and Geenie,
who also seem to take consolation from his presence. Then one day they freeze him out and close
off their entire house to the outside world.

Eventually,
Orfman discovers they are harboring the “resurrected” Slocum, who has no
memories of her fatal hiking misadventure.
The Slocums are determined to keep it that way. They allow Orfman to renew their
relationship, but insist he never tell her about her death or share the happy
news with the rest of the world. It is all good for a few days, until certain
changes start manifesting in Slocum. For instance, her skin is drier and her
behavior is more aggressive. We also get hints she might not be the only zombie
who came back.

Writer-director
Baena dexterously keeps the zombie apocalypse lurking just outside our field of
vision, focusing instead on the increasingly problematic relationship between
Orfman and Slocum. He also stays true to the logical necessities of zombie
movies in the redemptive third act climax.
However, the humor in After definitely
leans toward the mild chuckle end of the spectrum.

Aubrey
Plaza is the perfect choice for Slocum, jumping into the undead teenager angst and
zombie gore with both feet. In contrast,
Dane DeHaan’s Orfman is a leaden presence, stuck on moody brooding throughout
the film. He might be convincingly nebbish, but it is impossible to believe
someone with this kind of dead fish charisma could attract the reasonably
popular Slocum. While Paul Reiser (his second dad role in a Sundance film this
year) and Cheryl Hines are largely wasted as Orfman’s parents, John C. Reilly’s
shtick suits Maury Slocum rather well.

Life
After Beth is pleasant enough,
but it is quite like scores of previous teenager horror mash-ups thematically
and stylistically. While it earns originality points down the stretch, Plaza
and Reilly could have used some help carrying it to that point. Tightly
executed but low in calories, Life After
Beth will only serve as a light snack for genre fans when it screens today
(1/24) in Park City, as a selection of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance ’14: All the Beautiful Things

A
good conversation should be like jazz: a little call and response, plenty of
riffing, and everyone gets a chance to make their solo statement. Two estranged friends will try to talk out
their complicated history amidst the soulful sounds of a jazz club in John
Harkrider’s docu-hybrid-hybrid All the
Beautiful Things (trailer
here), which
screens during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Harkrider
grew up on the wrong side of the tracks before making good as a Wall Street
attorney and eventually segueing into the lucrative world of independent
filmmaking. His friend Barron Claibourne
is a successful photographer who happens to be African American. Issues of race
and class will haunt their discussion, particularly when it turns into an
argument.

It
all revolves around a woman, but ironically neither man was particularly
interested in her romantically.
Harkrider never had the desire or the opportunity to leave the friend
zone. However, the woman in question had eyes for Claibourne and acted on her
impulses. He did not really reciprocate her interest, but he slept with her
anyway, thinking little of it. Needless
to say, things turned rather ugly, leaving Harkrider caught in the middle.

Presumably,
whether you think Harkrider did right enough by Claibourne depends on which man
you instinctively identify with. Yet,
the stunning African American bartender acting as a neutral referee seems to
lean towards Harkrider’s side of things.
Of course, this could also be a function of gender identification, with
respects to the unseen woman. While the inherent drama is obvious, it is highly
debatable whether the legal events surrounding the Harkrider-Claibourne feud
merit the feature documentary treatment. Nevertheless, the democratic ethos of
jazz argues everyone deserves a chance to have their say.

Indeed,
the better show is probably happening on the bandstand, where trumpeter Jeremy
Pelt’s quartet will perform John Coltrane’s A
Love Supreme in its entirety. It is an impressive interpretation that adds
spiritual gravitas to the two friends’ bickering and bantering.

Essentially,
ATBT was outlined but not scripted,
introducing substantial improvisation into the mix. Believe it or not, this
approach sort of works. Harkrider has an
acerbic wit, often making hip pop culture references, whereas the more blunt-spoken
Claibourne has a knack for cutting to essence of each issue. Still, their
purported insights into race and class do not readily suggest wider universal
truths, reflecting more specific circumstances instead.

It might be talky, but ATBT is an unusually stylish film, thanks to Pelt’s music (definitely
including his Coltrane cover as well as some original themes), Brian O’Carroll’s
evocative neon nocturnal cinematography, and Matthew Woodson’s viscerally
powerful black-and-white illustrations (used in lieu of recreated flashbacks).
Arguably, there is enough substance in the two frienemies’ verbal parrying to
keep viewers reasonably invested, but the male-centric gabfest is likely to be
divisive among audiences. Regardless, the visual and audio trappings are quite
a rich feast. Recommended for viewers receptive to a jazz-noir version of My Dinner with Andre, All the Beautiful Things screens again
in Park City today (1/24) and tomorrow (1/25) as part of this year’s Sundance
Film Festival.

Sundance ’14: No No: a Dockumentary

For
most baseball fans, Dock Ellis is best known as the man who won the 1976 AL
Comeback Player of the Year and helped pitch the New York Yankees into that
year’s World Series. It is a perfect example of how a great team can rejuvenate
veteran players. There are also those remember him for throwing a no-hitter
while under the influence of LSD. Jeffrey Radice profiles Ellis’s colorful
career and meaningful post-baseball life in No
No: a Dockumentary, which screens during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Radice
openly evokes Superfly and other
blaxploitation films when chronicling Ellis’s early seasons with the Pittsburgh
Pirates. Ellis liked to dress sharp, but he was not inclined to take guff off
anyone. However, he was far less
confident beneath his bluster, which is why he regularly took some narcotic
courage before starting a game.

While
our Yankee chauvinism might sound like an exaggerated put-on, the late Ellis might
not have objected. While he was happy to notch the no-no career milestone, many
of Dockumentary’s talking heads
suggest Ellis was uncomfortable with all the sophomoric jokey attention focused
on the LSD part of the story. After all,
some of the most compelling sequences follow Ellis’s drug-fueled implosion and
his subsequent comeback as an addiction counselor.

Radice
talks to a number of Ellis’s former teammates, family members, and ex-wives,
compiling a pretty thorough composite of his subject. He maintains a brisk pace, while Beastie Boy
Adam Horovitz’s score and the funky licensed tracks evoke the 1970’s vibe quite
distinctively. Ellis’s story also raises several topical issues, such as drug
use, domestic abuse, and the state of post-Jackie Robinson racial relations in
Major League Baseball. Radice gives them
all their proper due, but never strays too far from the baselines. Frankly, he gets the mix of social relevancy and
retro attitude just right. Highly
watchable, No No: a Dockumentary is
recommended for audiences beyond the obvious ESPN market. It screens again in
Park City today (1/24) and tomorrow (1/25) as part of this year’s Sundance Film
Festival.

Sundance ’14: The Raid 2

Rama’s
last mission was an off-the-books frontal assault. He was one of the few
survivors. This time, he will use stealth and deception. Don’t worry, he will
generate the same massive body count in Gareth Huw Evans’ The Raid 2 (trailer
here),
which screens during this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Ironically,
busting his corrupt commanding officer might not be so hot for Rama’s career.
It is likely to attract the wrong sort of attention. Fortunately (or not), the leader of the new
anti-corruption squad papers over the whole affair, so he can recruit Rama for
a deep cover operation. The honest cop
and family man will spend two years in prison, where he will become the
protector of Uco, the unstable son of Bangun, Jakarta’s top mob boss. His
objective is not to take down Bangun, but to expose the cops in his pocket.

Matters
get more complicated (as gangster business often does) when Uco hatches a plan
to usurp his father and launch an all out war against their Japanese Yakuza
allies. With chaos unleashed, Rama forms a de facto alliance with Eka, Bangun’s
more rational lieutenant, played by Mr. Sundance, Oka Antara, co-lead of the Mo
Brothers’ Killers.

Raid 2 starts a bit
slower than the previous film, actually devoting a minute or two to exposition,
but it is soon off to the races. In addition to the mega-melees, there are
several feature spots devoted to various supporting beat down artists. Yayan
Ruhian, Iko Uwais’s co-action choreographer on both films, reappears in the
persona of Prakoso, a loyal Bangun assassin done wrong by Uco. However, the sequel’s new fan favorite is
likely to be Julie Estelle, who literally tears it up the joint as the aptly
named “Hammer Girl.” Watching her go Sears Craftsman on various Yakuza is what
the movies should be all about.

Once
again, Uwais and Ruhian’s fight scenes are spectacularly violent and wildly
cool. Close quarters combat is unquestionably their forte. While their moves
are often dazzling cinematic, there is nothing superhuman in Raid 2, except perhaps its characters’ tolerance
for pain.

Uwais
is an earnest enough screen presence with truly ferocious action chops.
Likewise, Ruhian and Estelle should be future cult stars in their own
right. Arifin Putra brings plenty of
entitled villainy as the recklessly ambitious Uco, while Antara and Tio Pakusodewo’s
Bangun nicely hold up the Johnnie To gangster tradition.

Without question, Raid 2 maintains the franchise’s status as the reigning Cadillac of
martial arts cinema. Saturated in adrenaline, it is the sort of film that
inspires expressions of appreciative shock and awe from the audience. Highly recommended, it screens again this
Saturday (1/25) in Salt Lake as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sundance ’14: Low Down

Jazz
musicians have families like anybody else.
Some even produce musical dynasties, like the Marsalises and the O’Farrills.
For many though, the inconsistent nature of gigging is a stressful fact of jazz
family life. Heroin addiction adds a
further destabilizing element. Amy
Albany understands this all too well.
Her memoir tells a stark tale of drug abuse, bebop, and paternal
love. Jazz pianist and former Charlie
Parker sideman Joe Albany’s chaotic parenting gets the biopic treatment in Jeff
Preiss’s Low Down, which screens
during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Tragically,
Joe Albany was arguably the more responsible of Amy Albany’s parents, but that
is saying a lot. While Amy Albany’s absentee alcoholic mother only fleetingly
appears in her life, Joe makes a good faith effort at fatherhood. Sadly, Hollywood in the early 1970’s is a
tough scene for working jazz musicians, but it is easy to score junk there.

Clearly,
Joe Albany had a good rapport with his daughter, but he was enslaved to his
habits. Right from the start, a pattern emerges. Resolving to do right by his daughter and
parole officer, Albany will clean up, accepting gigs beneath his stature for
the sake of his family commitments. Yet,
his inevitable benders consistently undo all his good intentions. During these periods, Amy Albany moves back
in with her gruff but eternally patient grandmother.

Having
served as the cinematographer of Bruce Weber’s Chet Baker documentary, Let’s Get Lost, Preiss is no stranger to
the effects of long term heroin use—but he has nothing on Amy Albany, who
co-adapted her book for the big screen.
It is not pretty in either film.
However, Albany’s source memoir is even more harrowing in its depiction
of drug use. Still, the wreckage wrought by Albany’s addiction is all too believable
and realistic on-screen.

Right,
so this is not exactly happy stuff, but John Hawkes’ performance as Joe Albany
is quite remarkable. He perfectly captures
the cadences and mannerisms of a dissipated musician and looks comfortable enough
behind the piano. It is painful witnessing his long slow process of
self-destruction, precisely because he so vividly brings out the more edifying
aspects of Albany’s personality. Playing
a bit against type, Glenn Close is rather earthy and compelling as his tough
working class mother. Lena Headey also
makes a strong impression in her brief scenes as Sheila Albany. Unfortunately, Elle Fanning is too bland and
retiring as the teenaged Albany.

Low
Down is a quality period
production that painstakingly recreates the desperate seediness of Hollywood in
the 1970’s. It might be hard to watch,
but it sounds great, thanks to extensive archival recordings from Albany and
his contemporaries, as well as some original jazz themes composed and recorded by
Ohad Talmor. Depressing but well intentioned and deeply humanistic, Low Down is recommended for bebop fans
when it screens again today (1/23) and tomorrow (1/24) in Park City, as well as
this Sunday (1/25) at Sundance Resort, as part of this year’s Sundance Film
Festival.

J.B. Spins

About Me

J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Send e-mail to: jb.feedback "at" yahoo "dot" com.